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God: Personal Not Private 08.06.06 This past Thursday night I came up with a brand new definition of what it means to have “mixed emotions.” As the service was going on I became increasingly excited to see how God had brought people from at least seven different churches together to sing praises to Him as well as to pray together (I wound up getting to pray with approximately two dozen different believers from the various churches). Tony Estey, pastor of the Hispanic church, shared toward the end of the service: But, also as the service was going on I became increasingly grieved in my spirit; there were only six people from our church in attendance. But, as I’ve thought about all this, I’ve had to stop and consider a very real possibility: James 3:1 NLT • Great… I’m teaching but people aren’t getting it; I’m in trouble! But, I’m not losing too much sleep at night because I also have to factor in Paul’s words to Pastor Timothy… 2 Timothy 3:5 NLT • Many people do the churchy stuff, but when decisions are made and priorities set, those decisions and priorities are based not on what God wants but on what they want … They live their lives the way they want to live their lives. Yes, you’re religious, but you still do as you please. I was talking with someone yesterday about how very good Satan is at blinding people. And, this is what’s happened when we compartmentalize our lives. ~~~~~~~~ I think I need to interject something a bit light-hearted here: How to Stay Safe in the World Today But, wait; there’s good news! So, if you’re intent on staying safe in the world today: It could save your life! ~~~~~~~~ I’m reading a book on religion and politics (God’s Politics, by Jim Wallis) Years later he came back to the Church with this insight: “God is personal, but never private.” “Without a personal God, there is no personal dimension to belief. There is no relationship to God, no redemption, salvation, grace, or forgiveness. There is no spiritual transformation without a personal God, and no power that can really change our lives beyond mere self-improvement. In today’s world, there is one overriding and key distinction in all of the religion that is growing – a God who desires relationship with each person.” (ibid.) But, he goes on to say: Is that what our religion boils down to; simply hobnobbing with others of a common religious-cultural bias? “Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” (Mark Twain) Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT 1 Timothy 1:15 NIV 1 Corinthians 9:22b NLT 2 Timothy 4:1-5 NLT I close with a reading I’ve shared before; one that describes my heart as I live my life; the heart I long for our church to have as well. “I Stand By the Door” "I stand by the door. I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out. The door is the most important door in the world – it is the door through which men walk when they find God. "There’s no use my going way inside, and staying there, when so many are still outside and they, as much as I, crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find is only the wall where a door ought to be. The creep along the wall like blind men, with outstretched, grouping hands. Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, yet they never find it… So I stand by the door. "Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it, and open it, and walk in, and find him… So I stand by the door. "Go in, great saints, go all the way in – go way down into the cavernous cellars, and way up into the spacious attics – it is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is. Go into the deepest of hidden casements, of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood. Some must inhabit those inner rooms, and know the depth and heights of God, and call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is. "Sometimes I take a deeper look in, "There is another reason why I stand there. Some people get part way in and become afraid lest God and the zeal of his house devour them; for God is so very great, and asks all of us. And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia, and want to get out. “Let me out!” they cry. And the people way inside only terrify them more. "Somebody must be watching for the frightened who seek to sneak out just were they came in, to tell them how much better it is inside. The people too far in do not see how near these are to leaving – preoccupied with the wonder of it all. "Somebody must watch for those who have entered in the door, but would like to run away. So for them, too, I stand by the door. "I admire the people who go way in. But I wish they would not forget how it was before they got in. Then they would be able to help the people who have not yet even found the door, or the people who want to run away again from God. "You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long, and forget the people outside the door. As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, near enough to God to hear him, and know he is there, but not so far from men as not to hear them, and remember they are there, too. "Where? Outside the door – thousands of them, millions of them. But – more important for me - one of them, two of them, ten of them, whose hands I am intended to put on the latch. So I shall stand by the door and wait for those who seek it. "'I had rather be a door-keeper…' Who are you standing by the door for, wanting them to come into God’s Kingdom as you have? What would you be willing to do in order to help usher that person / those people into God’s Kingdom? What are some things our church can do to help usher more people from our community into God’s Kingdom?
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