Book Releases!

October 29th Anne Lamott's new book Stitches: A handbook on Meaning, Hope, and Repair  comes out
November 5th The Prodigal: A Ragamuffin Story by Brennan Manning (co written by Greg Garrett) comes out- his last book. A fictional story. I just found out yesterday.
And a Ragamuffin bible with devotionals from his work. (NIV Ragamuffin Bible: Meditations for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Brokenhearted)

I can't wait!!! Seriously. I'm dying.
Reviews will be posted shortly after ;)

Rejecting Jesus

Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown.  The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?”  Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.”  And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Mark 6:1-6

 

A lot of time I think it's easy for us to blame God. If God is good why...

-is there pain?
-is there world hunger?
-do we have to experience death?
-doesn't he stop and intervene?

You know the normal doubts I'm sure we've all battled. If you haven't I might be concerned... "He who does not weep does not see." How do we make sense of the harsh realities of life? Jesus is the most important thing in my life and I love him so much, but I still find myself hung up on all the hurt around me.

I'm not by any means saying I have answers. I don't even know if they are out there, because I'm pretty sure a God that makes complete sense to us would cease being God. Just like we'll never completely understand His love. There are alot of mysteries but we get to grow in trust. 

When I read about the people's unbelief it make me stop to think. This part of the bible shows how truly important our choices are. They impact the way God can or can't work in our lives. 

Maybe these people were too familiar with Jesus. He was from their hometown. Maybe we are too use to hearing about this God. We don't take into account what He can actually do in our lives. 

I know this is true because of my prayers when I didn't know God. I was so desperate for God to be real but I couldn't trust Him. Every day I would pray, as my ex sponsor Ren directed me, "God, if you are real reveal yourself to me."

He has answered that prayer. I think sometimes we sell ourselves short. Jesus was still able to heal a few sick people but he could have done so much more. God will work in this world no matter what. But, what could he do if your choices weren't holding him back?

There are struggles I have that I am so use to having that I don't always see the point in surrendering them. The more I let God in the more I will move. In His perfect love & wisdom, he never forces His will upon us. True love gives you a choice. 

I read this today and got sad because I don't want to make choices that block God from working in my life. The choices can never stop Him from loving me, but I can miss out on what God has in store for me which is always so much better than anything I could have planned. Am I choosing a life of self will or God's will?

There is always room to grow. I share this today to encourage you to invite God into those places. I imagine Jesus "amazed at their unbelief" because he knows all he could do. What could Jesus do in your life if you completely surrendered to him?

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
C S Lewis

Sanctuary 9/31

Sanctuary September 31st

Speaker: Eric "BZ" Botelho

 

We wrapped up our women's series on the woman who gave birth to our Savior... Mother Mary.

"When God is going to do something wonderful, He or She always starts with a hardship; when God is going to do something amazing; He or She starts with an impossibility." Anne Lamott, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith

Isn't that terrible news. The hardship you are facing in your life may be how God is calling you to Himself. The thing that is absoultly impossible to do on your own is when He gets the chance to really show up in your life. Time and time again the Lord is showing himself through walking me through painful things, fears, and challenges... not by answering my prayers with an easy way out.

Sometimes we just have to do what we don't want to do. As those of us in AA know, opposite action is what saves us. We do something different to get different results in life.

At Sanctuary we spent a night looking at Mother Mary. Imagine being Mary. 15 years old, a woman (also known as property in those days) and an angel comes to you and says you are going to give birth to the Son of God. Her response was one of trust and love, "May this be True"  see Luke 1:38 She was a virgin, and in those days if you were pregnant out of wedlock they would stone you to death (not the good kind).

I love the way our Lord works. In the people the world would expect the least. Mary is young and literally has no rights, but this is the woman God used to bring us Jesus. When she said yes to God, things got worse. She had to leave everything and flee to Egypt. God doesn't call us to this perfectly secure Christian life, that is an idea from the culture of how things should be. The path God takes us down often times is filled with trials and challenges. These are the things that TRANSFORM us and help us TRANSFORM the world.

 

She choose God's will over what would be the easy way. She had a choice.
When Mary said yes she risked everything. The best things in life will always involve risk and sacrifice. Anything that matters requires you taking a risk.

 

We could learn alot from this humble girl. God speaks in unlikely ways. 

 

 

She said yes- Why do we say no? What is holding you back from saying yes to God and the adventure he wants to take you onFear, Selfishness, other people's opinions of you... What is it? Ask yourself. When God takes your life it will never be the same. 

 

When we open up our lives to got he never just pours blessings on us so we are happy. He makes us a blessing to others. In this sick and twisted world we get to become apart of bringing God's kingdom to earth. 

 

 

Rich Mullins said it perfectly when he said, "I don’t believe that God chose you, and blessed you so that you could heap those blessings up upon yourself. I believe God chose you, and you, and you, and every one of you others because He wants to make a difference in this world. And you know what? what I think is scary about God is He didn’t come up with any ‘Plan B.’ That He left the Church here, and the Church is the only group of people, and the Church is the only institution in the world that can bring about a change. This government cannot do it, so stop depending on the government. Educational systems cannot do it, so stop trusting educational systems. The Church was chosen by God to make a difference."

 

 

So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too.1 Peter 4:1

There is a cost. BUT it costs you way more to not listen to the voice that calls you beloved. He is our father who is actually trustworthy (a far cry from what most of us know). We are going to suffer on this Earth, but the suffering we face from following Jesus always produces something beautiful within us and for those around us.

 

We have endless distractions... It is so easy to ignore the call. God can do a lot through your life. I constantly get close to giving up. It is not easy, but each time I do the thing that scares me I find God a little more. God is bigger than our fears and challenges.



As Bz said, the crazy thing about God is that he would have loved Mary just the same if she said no. His love NEVER depends on what we do. But, she would never have got to experience the life God planed for her. That plan He has for us is better than anything we try to plan for ourselves. Mary teaches us trust above all else. She shows us how to walk with God when it doesn't make sense. The effect of her life ripples on today.

Lord, make us a community of people who say yes to you even when things are dark. Help us overcome our fears that hold us back. Jesus I pray that you can make us a new community who seeks you out above all else and finds the healing and freedom that only You offer. I pray for these things in your name, amen.

What I'm reading... Book Review #2

Dancin' Toward the Dawn  

Discovering joy in the darkness of loneliness 

by: Tim Hansel 

 

Tim was Wilson's mentor and when Wilson came to speak at Sanctuary two Mondays ago he gave me one of Tim's books. I've read other work by Hansel and devoured it. It reads like a conversation with a dear friend. He has a way of motivating you like few others.

His desire for truth makes you want to seek it. He was an inspiration, and even after his death his words still inspire many. Loneliness is something I have battled my whole life. I know a lot of us do, but we tend to hide it from others. If you struggle with loneliness you have to read this book.

First of all, any book that mentions the Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan has my heart without question. BUT even if he didn't mention Brennan I would have loved this book! What makes it so powerful is his transparency. He is author and speaker and very easily could have chosen to protect an image of having it all together... but he chooses to be vulnerable instead. I felt like I was reading a private journal. He shows us how to truly connect to God in our most broken places. He will help you turn your loneliness into the very thing that draws you closer to our God. Great read. I will probably read it again in the future!

Memorable Quotes:

• "Emotions are a gift from God, given to us so we can respond to life. The problem with feelings is that you really have to feel them. You can't heal what you can't feel. As one of my defense mechanisms,I learned how to think "about" feelings rather than really feel them. The two are galaxies apart. Maybe the worst mistake we can make is to repress our feelings instead of learning how to properly express them. Perhaps without knowing it, we are cutting off God's ability to work in us." pg 41
• "Like a headlight that can only reach so far into the darkness, human love by its very nature has its limits. Our focus instead needs to be on the One who has said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."
• We need to stop looking for certainty in order to discover truth. By its very nature, life has the capacity and propensity to change. 
• We sometimes assume that God is leading towards a prearranged goal. He may not be. What He desires most from us is obedience. Surrender to His person. Sensitivity to His presence." pg 53
• "As long as one is busy, busy, busy, he or she never has to face what is really important in life. We never have to find out who God really is. We simply follow the God we have underlined in the Bible- not the God who is, but the God we want Him to be." pg 84
• "A broken heart simply contains more room for love... We must remain "empty" in our loneliness (that is, not trying to fill it with every possible distraction), or He cannot fill us." pg 92
• "God's presence has brought peace, not certainty." pg 105
• "We want friends to do what only God can do." 154

And he quotes my favorite... Brennan...
"It had never dawned on him that the vitally important thing was to drop his ego... There is nothing the ego will not seize upon to inflate itself... That is why mature Christian prayer leads us... through loneliness and aridity, which buries egoism and leads us out of ourselves to experience God." 


Overall, this book has drawn me closer to God in times of loneliness. I am very grateful for these words that filled my soul with more of God. If this is a struggle for you these words will be like food for you very hungry soul. Thank you Wilson for this book!