Friday, July 31, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?
And we can see that God you're moving
A mighty river through the nations
And young and old will turn to Jesus
Fling wide your heavenly gates
Prepare the way of the risen Lord
Open up the doors and let the music play
Let the streets resound with singing
Songs that bring your hope
Songs that bring your joy
Dancers who dance upon injustice
Martin Smith

Scripture Reflections Luke 15
11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

How many times am I a "give me that" kind of son? As I begin to think of this parable Lord that is the first thought that just jumps out of the page at me. "Give me my share..." Lord if you really gave me my share I would be in deep distress. Without hope...

What kind of son would ask for something that only a dead father can give? An estate not yet bestowed but asked for...

13"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.

I wonder if this young man already had his reservation in hand to the fast line when he asked for his Father's money in the first place.

Reservations are interesting. One of the roles of temptation seems to be not so much immediate destruction as incipient...gradual creeping crud. It just accumulates over time. Lord Jesus keep me safe from the evil one.


14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

A prodigal Jewish boy feeding the pigs and eating their leftovers. The end result of rebellion is ending up far from home left with only the memories of the way it used to be.

Lord Jesus help me to be the kind of person who can welcome the prodigal son or daughter and help then on their way home.

17"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20So he got up and went to his father.

The beginning of the journey home began when this young man can to his senses. He "came to his sense" or hit bottom with no where to go but up. Lord Jesus sometimes it is the natural consequences of my choices that brings me face to face with your grace and my need.This journey home was not an easy trip to make...I am sure the first few steps back were the hardest, but with every step there was increased momentum.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

Lord Jesus this is the essence of what you have called your people to be...the parent who waits...the parent who longs for the return of the lost...the parent who takes no joy in the pound of flesh...or maybe even the 10 pounds of flesh that sins take from the returning lost one. Lord Jesus make me the kind of person who can receive the lost one who is returning from a far country with acceptance, grace and with unconditional love that knows the cost of coming home.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble?
Did you feel the mountains tremble?
Did you hear the oceans roar?
When the people rose to sing of
Jesus Christ the risen one
Did you feel the people tremble?
Did you hear the singers roar?
When the lost began to sing of
Jesus Christ the risen one
Martin Smith


Scripture Reflections Luke 15
8"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' 10In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Lost things found are a reason for rejoicing. So the point of the lost coin parable is there is energy, determination and focus that is spent to find this coin. It is this women's mission to find the one coin that was lost. That is the way that I need to be in the search for restoration of people's souls to you Lord Jesus. Introducing those who have been lost to You Jesus is what life is all about...living a life that points to You with clarity and grace is the point...it is the mission.

A theme in all three of these parable's the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son... is this theme of rejoicing in heaven. We have an impact in heaven...Angel's celebrate at the restoration of relationships lost since shattered. I wonder what the celebration is like in heaven? Do they break out the best china, and the best silverware?

I wonder if I even have an inkling of the response of heaven when the lost return home. Angel's know about and are a part of the spiritual warfare that surrounds us as we live our lives. Victories won need to be celebrated.

Lord Jesus--thank you for the fact that you are very concerned about the lost...in fact more concerned with the lost one that with the other ninety percent that are not lost. Help me to focus on the right things, the mission is finding the lost and marshaling all my energies to that end
.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

Watching the Sun Come Up
Before the sun is above the trees.
Before the first morning birds sing.
I wait for you in silence.
I wait for you in awe.
I wait for you knowing.
You will be here with me.

Scripture Reflections Luke 15

1Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Jesus, You sat and ate with the people that no one else would break bread with...I was among those people. Just because we spend time with people who are not what you would have them to be Lord, doesn't imply condoning the life style that they are living. Redemption starts in the middle of a slave market...

I want to be the kind of person that welcomes people without preconditions, and yet does not condon lifestyles that are not pleasing to you Jesus. The kind of person who knows how to lead people to your grace, your mercy and love. I suspect that implies that humor is involved, mercy, love, the ability to give without preconditions. I can't do it Lord without your Holy Spirit's ongoing interaction and leadership.

3Then Jesus told them this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

You left heaven on a search and love mission. You could have stayed in heaven and ate with the angels and yet you come to earth to a stable...to a table where you met me...to a cross and then a tomb that you left while soilders fainted from fear.

5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Lord Jesus let there be rejoicing in heaven because people come to know you as savior...that means that it will get messy at times and that it will require reaching beyond where it is safe into the high country where sheep tend to stray.

Lord guide my steps so that by example and by lifestlye people come to a relatioship with you.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration
Psalm 1
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Scripture Reflections Luke 14:25-30
25Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

The cost to discipleship can be family, position and standing in the community...everything must be viewed within the context of the sacred. The sacred/secular distinction is a faulty one. Every action every word...every thought is subject to your will and direction. It is not comfortable to be a disciple at times...a cross was not a piece of jewelry in Your earthly ministry Lord Jesus. It was a instrument of death. Following you must be the most important thing in my life making me willing to risk physical health and life for you.

So much of the time I struggle with wanting to be liked...wanting to be accepted. Here you are saying that the cost of discipleship is sometimes rejection by the very people who count the most. Sometimes I think that I would like to make the grand gesture of sacrificing myself for the cause all at once, but instead I find myself being given away a bit at a time. Help me to do whatever small task you call me to do today with grace. Help me to say and do what you would have in the middle of the moment...with the pressures of time and energy available. Keep me focused on the priorities that are really important. Keep me open and responsive to the Holy Spirit's leading. In the middle of this day be my strength and the guardian of my way.

28"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

The cost estimate of following you Lord Jesus is everything thing that I am...and nothing less. The foundation is put in...and the building has begun...in fact truth be known the enterprise is half finished. This thing that you have called me to...doing life with You and with your people. Lord Jesus help me to use all of the resources that are left to finish well a life that You would take pleasure in.
31"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

The cost of discipleship is everything...that I am...everything that I hope to be...everything that you give...everything that comes along the journey. Blessings need to be held lightly...You give Lord and You ask me to be a channel of Your blessing a method or a means of following that blessing to the next person who needs it.

"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Word of God speak...the distinctive of being your disciple is that you are the one who is in control. You are the one who guards and guides. Help me have ears that listen to your direction with out hesitation...not selectively...not just what I want to listen to...but anything that you say Lord Jesus...help me to hear with the ears that are tuned to your leadership.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

Psalm 1
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Scripture Reflections Luke 14:15-24
15When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

This was a good response by someone in this group of people who were generally non-supportive of You Lord. They truly wanted to be a the celebration of the ages.

I want to be at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb too Lord.

Yet these men who were having dinner with You could have been a part of the group who were crying for Your death in just a very short while. They remind me how close and yet so far away people can be from your kingdom.

16Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
19"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 20"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'

Lord Jesus I was not a part of that first group invited. The gentile church is a part of the kingdom because of your grace and mercy.

Many of the chosen people had excuses. Lord Jesus don't let me have excuses when I hear your call. Help me be prepared and determined to fulfill the mission, reach the goal, sow the seed as you request.

In Psalm One you promise that You will nurture, water and bless with fruit the person who centers their life around your direction and word.

21"The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "

You want your feast to be well attended. The job of bring people to that feast of the King continues.

Lord you know the prayer of my heart, eight new families and four people coming to know You. Lord Jesus bless your church.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

Scripture Reflections Luke 14:1-14
1One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?" 4But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.
5Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?" 6And they had nothing to say.


Lord Jesus you healing of this man was the turning point in his life. It was a personal thing...it was a monumental thing. Yet for these observers it was something that should have been done on another day of the week.

Worship is important...worship is life. Worship is obedience in real life. So where did silent observers go wrong? In the middle of a unique situation where they knew that God was at work from the healing power that was demonstrated, they were unable to see the human who was sitting right in front of them...they could not see and feel this man's pain. He was an opportunity to see if You would break the Sabbath.

7When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8"When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

So Lord Jesus if I get this parable...the point is: You are the one who lifts up and the one who brings down. There is meaning to the events of my life that seems so irrational at times. There are places and times when I find myself unexpectedly humbled...brought low. There are times when I am honored unexpectedly. It is by your hand, I don't always understand it...I don't always like it...but nor is it something that I need to run from. Much easier to embrace honor than humility. You are the host of this life experience...the creator...the sustainer...

So if both come from Your hand, there must be something that is needed in both...something missed if not experienced. A lesson learned or maybe preparation for the next task? That is the hard part for me...in the middle of both situations emotions rule the day...the week...the decade at times.

There is a need to accept and to participate in the process...it is better to assume a place of humility than to assume the place of honor. It is Your unseen hand that creates the conditions in which all this is experienced.


12Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

I wonder how much I have banked in Resurrection Trust right now?

Lord Jesus remind me today of the eternal in the middle of this series of interchanges that seem to disconnected at times and yet form my life. Help me to represent You in a way that is pleasing to You. Remind me that it is only in letting go of Your blessings that I can hold on to them eternally.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration
Holy holy Lord God Almighty
Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain
Highest praises honor and glory
Be unto Your name
Be unto Your name

Scripture Reflections Luke 13:32-35
31At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you."

Lord Jesus not all the Pharisees were against you. Here they were trying to get you to leave the land of promise. Some were trying to see you relocate to save your life.The promised land and the temple and the chosen people of God were the people that you were sent to. They were the ones that your ministry took root in and you were sent to.

32He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' 33In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

Here even to the Pharisees you allude to your death and resurrection, political situations did not change your goal or your plans to obey the direction of the Father. Nor did the threat of death change you ministry, right up to the end...demons were driven out and people were healed.

Political situations change and morph right before our eyes, there is no security in them, there is ultimately no stability in them. Nations rise and fall, the Lord continues to lead and call. It is amazing how apolitical you were Lord Jesus, but then you knew that politics do not change hearts.

34"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'

This is a lament for the city in which you had done a lot of ministry. A place where you had healed, a place that was the capital city of the nation. This city more than any place was the symbol of the aspirations and the hopes of the Jewish people for a nationalistic revival of power and prestige.

Some of the children that were at your feet as you went into the city that day would die in the fall of Jerusalem in just 40 years in the future. You knew the coming end to the system that was in currently in place. You knew that changing the present system was just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Lord Jesus in this day help me to invest my energy in things that will last.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration
We give You praise
We give You praise
And the King of all the earth
Has saved us from ourselves
We give You praise
We give You praise

Scripture Reflections Luke 13:22-30

22Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"
He said to them, 24"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.


The narrow door is something to make an effort for...or to struggle for. Entering into your kingdom Lord is not an easy thing. It is not a complicated thing, but it is not an easy thing. I remember a friend saying that following you was a narrowing process...to getting into the narrow door is accomplished only by letting go, not by hanging on.

25Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'
26"Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'


Lord Jesus the opportunity of your invitation is something that does not go on forever. There is a day when the door will close.

27"But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'
28"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last."


Lord Jesus this is one of those thoughts that reoccurs in your word. I know that I want to be a part of that group that has a place at your table. As you work in my life Lord I want you to be the first priority of what is important...of what is meaningful...of what is of ultimate value. Nothing else is more important.

The narrow door is open only by your grace. Thank you for your gift of grace for this day.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

What can we say to describe
Just a glimpse of your glory
How can our words portray
But a thread of your majesty
But still we praise our Savior
Oh in spirit and in truth
For we cannot say enough
About You

Scripture Reflections Luke 13:18-20

18Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches."

So Lord what is the point of this parable? Here is another example of the exsensive growth that needs to take place in your kingdom.

The clear point is that the mustard seed which is small can become something that came go a long way from its humble beginings. Your kingdom in my heart...your church started with just 12 men. Someday your kingdom will extend to all of the universe and all of the created order.

So I should worry about of small starts? That is the way that this things works doesn't Lord?

What about the growth of your kingdom in my heart? Has that taken place Lord in the way that you would have it grow? Am I allowing growth to take place in the way that it is need? Where does there need to be attention given to your kingdom growing in my heart?

20Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."

Yeast worked through the flour...intensive growth. Growth that touches and changes every other part of the whole. Nothing is left unchanged by the impact of the yeast. The impact of your message needs to touch every part of who I am not just growing toward but moving into every crevice and cranny that is a part of who I am. Transforming, refining, and bring order to the chaos in all parts of the process that you want to complete within me.

The implication is that there is nothing that is hidden that you don't already know about and want to make impact on...there is no thought, emotion or action that you are not aware of.
Lord Jesus work in all of it.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

This morning in the quiet
I wait for you.
This morning in the early light
You will meet me.
The first thing I will do today is to
Praise You.
Holy is the One who died and is alive.
Worthy is the lamb that was slain.
Scripture Reflections Luke 13:14-16
14Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

In the middle of trying to obey the law these people missed the blessing that you had shown them of God working in power among his people. Lord Jesus don't let me miss You at work in power.

How did these people have the courage to even try to control what they could not accomplish?

Lord Jesus are there times when I try to control what should just be experienced and brought back to you in praise? I have a feeling that this behavior did not stop in the first century. Stop me in my tracks when I do this Lord...bring it to my attention. I will follow, but I will not attempt to tell you what needs to happen when. All days are yours, You can act as you see fit on any of them in my life.

Holy Spirit work.


15The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"

What better day for spiritual freedom?

I am not sure of all that this means Lord in reference to people who are under the oppression of Satan, but praise Your name, you are able to break any and all chains that bind.

Jesus this is Your day today. I am open and ready for your leading and touch. Lord lead and guide. Help me to be in step with the direction you are taking. Holy Spirit work in this day in every interaction and every thought, be close to me in this day.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship you, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear

Scripture Reflections Luke 13:10-12

10On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

This healing is unique. The connection between the physical and the spiritual is clear and made by Luke in his narrative of the incident. The woman had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years...what lost time and energy were spent by this women who was under the influence of an evil spirit. Did she go to doctors for her condition? What were the other symptoms of her condition, I wonder? How was her condition evident spiritually?

This women still wanted to be where God's people were...even in the middle of her oppression. Sometimes people in the middle of Satan's impact are drawn to God's people...what does this imply?

God's people need to have spiritual discernment and the ability to be able to respond when need confronts us. Lord Jesus make it evident when spiritual conditions restrict and confine...

Lord Jesus the one thing that intrigues me is the connection between the physical aliment and sin. Here you make the clear connection between oppression of an evil spirit and the inability for the women to stand up straight. I wonder how many physical problems people have today are the result of spiritual causes.

12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

The first this thing that this woman did was to straighten up and stand upright for the first time in eighteen years.The very first thing this women said who had been under the influence and oppression of an evil spirit was to praise God.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship you, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear

Scripture Reflections Luke 13:1-9
1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."

The political situations of your day Lord Jesus were as difficult as it is today. Interesting that you did not take time to comment except as it related to the deeper issues of life.

No demonstrations...no time for that kind of activity...somehow I don't think you would be demonstrating for political change. The issue of sin is the same in everyone...even those who died in the middle of worship.

Nor did the falling of the tower of Siloam give you cause to question the mercies of God. You put this natural disaster in the same category...death is result of sin...this incident of gratuitous loss of life instead pushed you to see the need for repentance and being open to the call of grace.

Our end can come to us in so many ways. A bridge falling, a Twin Tower falling, a plane falling from the sky can all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye our lives can end or alter beyond our ability to recognize.

The ultimate result, the only thing that matters is that you are King of my heart and life...that your amazing love is alive in my heart. The only thing that matters is...at the end of each day that I can say that You are Lord and that in this day I have loved You with all my heart, soul and strength and that I have loved my neighbor as myself.

6Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
8" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "

The hope of harvest is the reason for all the time, energy and investment in your work Lord Jesus. If the fig tree does not produce fruit...there is no purpose for it. It is beyond the place where there is help for it. There is no other use for it other than to be cut down and become fuel for those still alive.

So what are the fruit that we should expect?
There should be intensive growth which should result in increased measures of patience, endurance, peace...the fruits of the Spirit. There should be extensive growth...more people coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ...not the forward movement of a political agenda or the discussion of the reason why bad things happen in the world.

Lord Jesus harvest time is what I am always thinking about these days...to see those who have been far away brought close to your side. Lord Jesus teach the ways of the harvest to this group of people who you are assembling called Living Springs Church.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration
Every Move I Make
Every move I make I make in You,
(You make me move Jesus)
Every Breath I take I Breath in You
Every step I take I take in You,
(You are my way Jesus)
Every Breath I take I Breath in You

As I begin this day Lord Jesus is this my prayer...this is my hope...this is my decision...that every breath today breathes in you and is used by you.

Scripture Reflections Luke 12:54-59

54He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. 55And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. 56Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?

It is easy for me to be judgemental Lord Jesus of those who heard your message and did not respond...but that misses the mark entirely. They missed the signs of thier times. Even though they could predict the weather with some level of accuracy they were not able to see the value of what your call was to be on thier life.

The question that is more important to think about is where am I missing the signs of my times? Where are the places where I am not able to see you hand at work because of my own bias and blind spots? I know they are there...like endtables in the room at night...sometimes I walk around them without incident and then sometimes the reach up and grab me.

Lord Jesus make me aware of these blind spots that need your touch.

57"Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? 58As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

So the point is there is need for reconcilation...for addressing the blind spots...the places where there needs to be healing where the blind spots of the past need to be viewed and resolved.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration
Every Move I Make
Every move I make I make in You,
(You make me move Jesus)
Every Breath I take I Breath in You
Every step I take I take in You,
(You are my way Jesus)
Every Breath I take I Breath in You
Waves of Mercy Waves of Grace
Everywhere I Look, I See Your Face
Your Love has captured Me
Oh My God this Love, How can it Be!
Scripture Reflections Luke 12:49-53
49"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.

So what is it that you seek to do Lord in me? There is a division of those who are willing to deal with the change and those who are not. You challenge me Lord to the change that you bring. You do not and will not fit into my categories...you are not tame...you are in charge and you call me to follow even when it is beyond where I have been before.

It is surely not going to be peaceful...it will call for all that is within me. I want to stay with where I am familiar and safe. You call me to places where there is risk...and the possibility of loss. The fire can either refine or destroy...it really depends on my willingness to follow...to accept...to change.

52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

The structures that have been nurturing will need to change. You do not allow me to be comfortable in the past, I will need to listen to you even when it flies in the face of all that I have known as a basic nurturing source. It is not change for the sake of change...just to do things differently...it is change that is necessary for the growth that your call requires of me.

Anything that does not fit into that call...or anyone who is not following will need to be left behind.

Even those things that were blessings in the past can become the things that hold me back from your will for the present. I have to be willing to trust you for today...for what I need for today's mission.
Lord Jesus lead me by your grace...to what you would have to be do and be today.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Κύριος Notes



 Luke 12:41-48
41Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?"
42The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.


Lord Jesus, you have given me a job to do...help me to be faithful to that job. Help me to do that work today and to be active in doing what you have given me to do until you return. It is easy to say but that the doing is something that takes a life time to accomplish.

There is blessing found in doing your will both now and as time goes on...blessing and grace.

It is really a simple job that you give...to give food allowance at the proper time. But the job takes diligence, planning, leg work on the details, and just plain hard work to make sure things happen each time and every time there is a meal.

Lord Jesus help me to keep to the knitting...with a level of grace and just plain good manners.


45But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk.

Safe to say it has been awhile that you have been away Lord. What is my reaction to that delay going to be? Am I going to do the hard work? Am I going to get the job done? Or am I going to party?

There is always the pull toward partying and just waisting time, money and energy on things that just plain do not satisfy...things that don't last, don't make a difference, and just plain don't really feed my soul.

46The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 47"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.
Thank you Lord for the reminder that there are eternal consequences for disobedience...for lack of follow through. I need to be reminded that I have to keep my hand to the plow if I every expect a harvest.

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Here is the hard part...the weight of blessing. You have given me so much...and that much is needed in your kingdom. To see your kingdom advance here in this place of Living Springs...it will take all that is within me...every once of wisdom, skill, knowledge, endurance, and grace.

You have given your blessings for a reason...within the blessings there are clues as to where you are planning to move next. It is not just the blessings that I have received that the clues are found in but the way in which you are blessing your people that are a part of this adventure.
What do those blessings imply? So what are the skills, what are the insights...what are the clues as to what you would have this church call Living Springs become that can be found in the blessings?

A few thoughts come to mind...

Prayer...you seem to be calling me again and again...in different and various ways to experiment with prayer...what I pray for...how I pray...how we pray in church...You are never far from my thoughts these days. I sense your movement in my heart at what seem to be odd movements. Some times when reading...sometimes when writing...sometimes when I least expect it. The places where I find you blessing are such odd places at times right where I would not expect to be blessed I find you setting the table for dinner with enemies all around. It could not happen except by your grace.

Worship...I find myself again and again coming in touch with you in worship...sometimes alone, sometimes in church, sometimes even at worship practice...I hear you...I sense your movement in my heart and life.

In this writing through these lines from time to time...I hear your voice, I sense your Holy Spirit moving within me. I am face to face with the reality that you are the one that blesses...you are the one who entrusts...that if I am to be useful in your kingdom I need to be just the channel through which your blessings flow. The more that I hold on to them...the slower the flow of those blessings to where they need to get...the slower the flow of new blessings into my life. So letting go of the present blessings only bring new blessings and new ways in which to praise you.
Letting go of yesterday blessings only allows us room for today's blessings.

Lord Jesus-- Thank you again for your blessings and help me to be aware and accountable in their use and what they imply about where you would lead.

Κύριος Notes

Adoration
Psalm 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in
paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Scripture Reflections Luke 12:35-40
35"Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.

Lord Jesus being ready for your service is much more than just having a back up sermon in my Bible...nor is it just about being ready to pray at a needed situation. It is about be ready to be all that you would have me to be in the middle of each situation that you put me in today. That is the trick...more accurately that is where the mystery of grace confronts me and comforts me time and time again.

I am waiting master...the house is ready for you...the closets are cleaned...the corners are cleaned out but without you it is just an empty house...

37It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them.

Lord Jesus the promise is when I am ready you are ready to make the celebration happen. Ready...be ready...that is the call everyday...everyway...Lord Jesus help me in this day to live out your call.

38It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him."

It is not about being surprised by the policeman who is on the side of the road just waiting for speeders. That is not the way You are to me. Instead it is living in such a way that you would be proud...would have me to live life.

If I am living just like you Lord then whenever you turn it will be fine.

Lord Jesus lead me good shepherd in the ways everlasting.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

Emmanuel, Emmanuel
His name is called Emmanuel
God with us,revealed in us
His name is called Emmanuel

Scripture Reflections Luke 12:32-33

32"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.



This is your promise to me Lord Jesus that you take pleasure in giving the kingdom to me. You are not trying to be coy, shy...your blessings are not something that are hidden. It is your pleaser to provide the kingdom to me. I am so grateful for your grace which reachs me as this I write this Lord Jesus. I am aware that you are here with me and that there is no need to ever worry.

33Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

So if it is your good pleasure to give the kingdom then why would I attempt to hold on to the blessings which you have freely given Lord? Give me the places and the opportunities and the grace to give without even noticing it Lord Jesus...except to praise you that I am able to.

34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Lord Jesus keeping my heart where it needs to be is not as easy as it sounds. So many things distract me from the focus. Good things sometimes...needful things...don't let me be sidetracked by the good and miss the best. Your kingdom is the best...your blessings what lasts...your hope the only thing that should motivate me.

Lord Jesus help me to avoid Attention Defect of the Soul today. Help me to keep my focus clearly on you and your Kingdoms values.

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

I will praise you with all of my life
I will praise you with all of my strength
I will praise you with all of my life
With all of my strength
All of my hope is in you!

Scripture Reflections Luke 12:27-11

27"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all ave taken care of me better than the lilies and the ravens.

You have given your blessings freely and abundantly to me. There is no reason why you have been gracious to me. You have given to me out of your abundant love and mercy. I stand in awe of what you have done. I will trust you for my needs today.

28If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

Lord Jesus you care about the grass and take care for it. I know that you are taking care of my needs even before I know what they are. Help me to be aware in a way that brings a new clarity to your work on my behalf.


29And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

What are the things that I am looking for and asking for Lord? What am I setting my heart on?

Are my values kingdom values or are they values driven by the whims of the culture that surrounds me? Lord Jesus shape my wants and requests that I make to you to fit kingdom values.

Lord Jesus in this day help me to reflect and be thankful for blessings that you have brought into my life. Help me to seek after kingdom goals, kingdom values and kingdom dreams today.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

My Life is in You Lord
My life is in you, Lord
My strength is in you, Lord
My hope is in you, Lord, in you, it's in you

I will praise you with all of my life
I will praise you with all of my strength
I will praise you with all of my life
With all of my strength
All of my hope is in you!

Scripture Reflections Luke 12:8-11
22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

My life is in your hands Lord Jesus. I depend upon your grace for this coming day. Lord Jesus be with me, provide in this coming day as only you can do. My life is in you Lord, my hope is you Lord...

24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Ravens are crows Lord and you know how I don't like crows.

Four crows have lived right in my back yard for the last 5 years. I am not sure why but they just don't like them. They are black, they feed on dead stuff and they are just plain creepy.

Yet you provide for them. If you provide for the crows that live in my back yard that are just plain creepy...then why should I worry or be concerned about your provision for me? You are in control of the winds of this world that blew them into my backyard in the first place...you know the conditions that will change that will send them on their way to another back yard.


25Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

So I am not going to worry about the crows anymore...although I would not mind if you sent them on their way. Me being concerned about birds in the back yard is a bit out there in the wild reaches.
Kurt a reality check is a good idea sometimes...

It just seems like crows in the back yard of a parsonage might mean something...but maybe it just means that you brought them to my back yard to feast on the grubs and moles that also live there. I have seriously thought about getting a gun and going after those silly crows to encourage them along their life cycle. But even crows need a place to call home.

So what do you have for me to learn from the crows Lord?

In the middle of the crows sleeping somewhere in the trees tonight outside my window, I rest in your grace...not always knowing what it all means. I rest in the fact that you care about crows, but you care about me more. Your grace and love are more than enough to see me through the crows. You have lessons for me to learn on this corner that the crows will see take place...hope they enjoy the view.

Lord Jesus be with me in the day that will begin all to soon...may you hand be upon me and lead me.

Κύριος Notes

Adoration
Change My Heart, Oh God
Change my heart oh God
Make it ever true
Change my heart oh God
May I be like you
You are the potter, I am the clay
Mold me and make me, this is what I pray

Scripture Reflections Luke 12:8-11

13Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
14Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."


Lord Jesus--I can be so external focused. It is so easy for stuff to become important. You are right there is a need to be on guard about it.

16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

Maybe the best thing that this rich man could have done was it give it away to people that needed it. Lord Jesus there is the tendency to hold on to when we just need to let things go. The tricky part Lord Jesus is to know when to hold on and when to let go. That is the place where you will need to be begin to teach me Lord.

18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

The focus of this man was exclusively on himself and on what he had and could do. How often is that the way that I think Lord.

20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'
21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."


Lord Jesus thank you for the blessings that you have brought into my life. You have blessed me in so many ways with so many different gifts of grace. Lord Jesus help me to hold lightly that which you have given to me...to see it all as a means to goal and a goal in it's self. Your kingdom is the goal. Remind me today when I need it of that simple truth.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Scripture Reflections Luke 12:4-7

4"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Lord Jesus--Knowledge makes me responsible for follow through. In the middle of the everyday, you call me to live out with endurance and grace an open and transparent life. It is within that life without secrets that this call to accountability is understood. Without your Holy Spirit's help follow through is impossible.

6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

You know me Lord Jesus...you know my thoughts, my desires, my weaknesses...you made me and you know my needs. You don't forget sparrows you will not forget me. If you numbered the hairs on my grey head, then you know the reality of my life...you know the risks and you know the possible rewards, you know the way forward...you know my fears and hopes. Savior lead.

Savior in this day lead and direct as only you can. Give strength and encouragement in the middle of the places that I find myself. Help me to be open and transparent to your call and your direction.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

Every move I make I make in You, (You make me move Jesus)
Every Breath I take I Breath in You
Every step I take I take in You, (You are my way Jesus)
Every Breath I take I Breath in You

Scripture Reflections Luke 11:52-12:3

52"Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering." 53When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54waiting to catch him in something he might say.

Lord Jesus--In the middle of opposition and of confusion teaching and ministry continued. The leaders of the law and the religious right of your day began to oppose you because you called things are they were. You did not let them live in hypocrisy.

Luke 12
1Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

Don't let me fool myself into believing that I have the last word or am able to identify the forest in the middle of all the trees either Lord Jesus. I know that you speak truth and you speak it in my heart where I dare not over look it. There is nothing that is hidden that will not eventually come to light.

So how does that impact what I am doing today and for your kingdom. It means that I need to handle carefully the word of truth. It means that in the middle of the confusion of life I need to stay to the task that you have set out for me. You are telling me that in the middle of the mix of the daily the eternal shines through with clarity...so don't miss the light. The leaders of your day...of what had been a reformation of the religious community a generation before had become rigid and settled in their ways and were not open to a new movement of the Spirit of God.

Lord Jesus move with definition and character in my life in this day. Thank you for the sun that is coming over the trees right now...shine in my heart of Great Light of the World.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Κύριος Notes

Adoration

Waves of Mercy Waves of Grace
Everywhere I Look, I See Your Face
Your Love has captured Me
Oh My God this Love, How can it Be!

Scripture Reflections Luke 11:47-48
47"Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. 48So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.'

Nostalgia is something that runs deep in those who worship you Lord Jesus. I am not comfortable with change and growth. It is always much easier to remember and celebrate the blessings of the past than to walk by faith the journey you call me today.

We can not live in the safe past. We must journey with you Lord to the place of grace and service that you have for me. A journey always implies risk, adventure, mistakes and mess. Lord Jesus teach me about the risks, give me a heart that is content with with adventure, guard me from the mistakes that would be fatal to your work, and Lord Jesus thank you for the mess.

50Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

The consequences for not following the call of God for living in the present has an effect that ripples like a stone thrown into a calm pool of water.

Lord Jesus help me follow you in the present tense and not in some nostalgic past that no longer has any chance of change in it. Lord Jesus give me the courage and faith to reach out for all that you have for me today with grace.