A Gift from the Sea

I am bored this morning.  My person needs a respite from a long work week.  I still have too much on my plate.  However with determined obedience, I put down the "hammer" and observe this Sunday day of rest.

I realize that the "boredom" that has come is a trap.  It is the World calling me away from time with our Lord.  It has dulled my senses to the extent that I feel useless, unless I am doing something.  There is no joy.  Why????

I pause now to pray for clarity and the ability to share His offering.

After a week long pause to this message...

My sense of lack of purpose is simply a lapse in the search for Him.

Last week we went hunting for scallops.  For those whom have not tried it, it is a rather simple process.  Basically you don mask, snorkel and fins, and while floating or slowly swimming on the water's surface you scan the sea floor for scallops.  The scallops are somewhat camouflaged and/or hidden in sea grass, however with diligence and a sense of purpose/determination they may be found.
When you spot one, you reach (or dive) down and pluck it from it's bed.  Once in a while they try to swim away.  It is kind of cool watching a shell propel itself through the water.  There is no chase however, for the scallops are not able to escape our grasp.

On a personal note, I really did not have the desire to go scalloping.  Or perhaps, a more honest share would reveal that, I thought my work was too important (and busy) to let this family time interfere with the worldly success that was within my reach.

So this message began by sharing my boredom.  The very first word was "I".  What was my focus in that moment?  The answer is all to obvious.  Did it really take a week to discover His will?

Yes and no!

It took a tiny sea creature to remind me that He is where you seek.  What could have been a boring and rather monotonous experience (literally floating in the Gulf of Mexico for hours), was joyful.  Family, fresh air and a fruitful harvest brought light to His presence in life.  Just like those scallops would be there, ready for the taking when we fully participate in the experience:
God is always present, even when and where we fail to seek Him.  He is always within our grasp.

Scripture reminds us that when we truly desire His presence...
Jeremiah 29:13,  "You shall seek me. And you will find me, when you have sought me with your whole heart."
...there He shall be.

What actions will be taken today to clarify what our hearts are pursuing?  I pray that the answers come as obvious choices, each moment of the day.  For me, boredom is a sure sign that I am the center of my own attention.  Christ would not know me on that day.

Thank God, He is bigger than that.  The seed He planted in my heart was being choked by the weeds of this world and my own transgressions.  He revealed how to weather this storm and again make fertile His soil.  Christ knows how difficult the path is, and our desire to know (follow) him, is in turn how He knows us.

May we find the grace to seek Him with our whole heart.
amen.

Un-Chosen

It has been quite a while since I have responded to the desire to share.  This response is in honor of those brothers in Christ who share this calling.  May He provide that which we dutifully seek.

Un-chosen.

John 21:20-22

"Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?”

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?”

Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”"

No matter what occurs in our lives.  No matter how anyone else responds to any given situation, whether we feel (or for that matter know) it is right or wrong.  We have but one correct choice.  Follow Christ!

I have always been a results driven man.  If I do my part, then my expectation is typically fulfilled by the realization of the outcome.  This is a powerful tool for most things of this world.  It can be a huge liability when committed to a life in Christ.

Titus 1:2

“in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began”

A life in Christ is synonymous to living in eternity today.  This means that all we do must be rooted in pursuit of what is to come (which reaches far beyond our senses).  Not just in the immediate results of our actions, but in the final meaning of our lives. 

Our personal interpretations of victories and defeats are as meaningless as our attempts to define God.  Our Creator manifests the eternal outcome and our commitment to Him is our only real choice.

So finally for me, the greatest choice has been made.  My previous reluctance to fully be the man our Father has created is my greatest obstacle to the faith.  Although it is a faith which I proclaim to desire from the depths of my soul, I have been seeking immediate results, in lieu of the eternal reward that awaits.

These are my prayers.  

"Lord change me."

"Lord heal me."

"Lord, please enable my walk to freely pursue your eminence."

In this moment I hear the words, "It is done."

Yes, it is done.  It is done now as I realize.  It remains done for eternity.

What prevents continuing realization (and acceptance) is my own inability to trust His desire for me.

Not just the worldly acceptable parts of me (which I kinda like to).  But He desires, (even more so I would imagine), for me to offer up those "flaws" that neither the world, nor I, care to acknowledge.  These sins were born with me (with all of us).

He created us.

To love him fully is to accept His creation.
To enrich His gift of my life, is to give every part of me back to Him.
Not just in word or deed, but truly in heart.
In my sinfulness, I find His loving call back.
In my weakness, I seek His power.
In my worry, I seek His wisdom.

And in my doubt, I seek His eternal promise of coming home.

That is the only choice that matters…

amen