Dear Brothers and Sisters;
Grace to you, and peace
from God our Father, and our Lord, Jesus Christ!
Over the past several
months, I have received three distinctively different – but very apropos –
prophetic words from three distinctively varied but well-trusted sources. These words are not only applicable for our
lives together as the church – and our lives individually – they are also good
missional watch-words for us as we go through the fall and winter months – thru
Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas, into the New Year.
These words are: GET GROUNDED… STAY GROUNDED… and STAY THE
COURSE.
These seemingly simple
concepts are essential to the Body of Christ today. The prophet, Micah, echoed these watch-words
when he wrote “he has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord
require of you, but to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.” (Micah 6:8)
How do we put these
concepts into practice? How do we get
grounded? How do we stay grounded? How do we stay the course? The answers to these questions are from the
“Easier said than done” department – yet they are not impossible to put into
practice!
Get Grounded: One of the things that
happened in a consumer-oriented society was the establishment of a buffet-style
mentality. If you don’t quite like
what’s on your plate, you can always go back and try something different. Another by-product of this mind-set is the
phenomenon of church-shopping. When I go
to buy a new electronic gadget or gizmo, I will visit a few different stores,
and compare the different devices to find out which one fits my needs, which
one has the best price, and then if my criteria are met, I will make the
purchase, and then put said gizmo to use.
So it is with church-shopping (not necessarily a bad thing) but I’ve also got to know what I am looking
for. Am I made to feel welcome and ‘at
home’ here? Do people interact with me,
or am I pretty much left alone? Am I
here because I am looking for something here, or am I here because I don’t like
something that happened where I was before?
When someone tells me at church on a Sunday morning (and yes, I’ve had
this conversation with many different people over my career thus far…) that
they are “seeking” or “looking for something” my reply is to tell them “let God
speak to your heart this morning.”
Stay Grounded: I am reminded of a song from
“South Pacific” (the Rogers and Hammerstein masterpiece)… “Once you have found her, never let her
go.” Translated into “Christianspeak”
that thought might sound something like “once you have found where God wants
you, stay where He wants you.” If your
place of anointing is in one area, if God is leading you in a certain area, or
in a certain fellowship, follow the
words of Poor Richard’s Almanack and “grow where you are planted. From an agricultural perspective, any farmer
or gardener will tell you that it is impossible for roots to grow, and for a
plant to get the nutrients it needs if it is constantly being uprooted and
re-planted every few days. Eventually
the plant that is being constantly uprooted and replanted will die… or at the
very least will be stunted and mis-shapen in its growth.
There are, however, some
instances in which being trans-planted is a good and healthy thing. I remember
meeting up with a former parishioner one day who had informed me a year
before that God was leading her to go to another church – where the rest of her
family was going. After praying with
her, I bade her a bittersweet “fare-thee-well”.
One year later she joyfully shared with me that the move she made was
even better than she could have possibly imagined! She and her family were really growing there,
and she was exactly where God wanted her!
She was really glad that she followed the move of the Holy Spirit, and
thanked me for encouraging her to go
(and grow) where God was planting her.
Today, we are still very close friends with this sister and her family,
and it is always a joyful reunion when we run into her at the grocery store, or
at a restaurant, or at another community event.
I also rejoice to take note of the fact that while God was leading her
to where HE wanted her, that HE was also leading other people to be planted and
grow right here!
Stay The Course: Jesus, one day, told his
disciples a parable of a mustard seed. A
little, insignificant seed, no bigger than the period at the end of this
sentence. Or this one. Yet, when it is planted in the soil, and is
allowed to germinate and grow, it can become so big that it provides shade for
the whole garden. So big, he continues,
that even birds can build their nests and live in its branches. Elsewhere, Jesus also tells us that if a seed
falls to the ground and dies, it will grow and bear much fruit. In like fashion (and we have seen this kind of
spiritual growth here…) if we die to self – if we give up our own agendas,
devices and desires – and focus on what God wants for us here – we, too, will
bear much fruit for him.
If we allow ourselves to
be led by the Holy Spirit to go where God wants us, and if we allow our
spiritual roots to grow deep into where we are planted, just watch how HE
will use us to be a blessing to others!
As we prepare to gather
around the table with our families to give thanks for each of our many
blessings, let us remember to be a blessing to others. Let us remember those who are in need – and
let us remember that HE gave HIS best to us when we were in need. For God so loved us – that HE gave us HIS
son.
Monica, Amanda, and the
whole Beres-Calandra family join me in wishing each of you a Happy
Thanksgiving! A Blessed Advent! Merry Christmas! May this season of sharing and caring also be
a time in which you and your family experience great blessings!
I Bid You Peace!
Dr. Ken+
