Sacred Space; Omnipresent God

Do you have a sacred place where you go, to get alone with God?  Maybe it's a mountain stream or a favorite beach, or a place in a park where the flowers bloom.  Human beings long for sacred places--breathing space where we can commune with our own hearts and with God.  For some people, that special place is the church where they grew up.  I remember the song, "Church in the Wildwood", by the Statler brothers:

There's a church in the valley by the wildwood

No lovelier spot in the dale

No place is so dear to my childhood

As the little brown church in the vale

I have several such places, where my heart goes in memory, as I think of special events that formed my soul.  Yes, one of those, for me, is Mount Olivet Baptist Church, where I grew up.  There, I first learned to trust God, learned to follow, and then learned to lead.  I even had moments when I believed I saw a divine glow in the sanctuary, during worship--but did God LIVE at Mount Olivet?  Well, yes.  But no more than God lives in other places.  Yet, even though God is omnipresent (everywhere at once), God is also often known in sacred places.

For me, sacred places go beyond church buildings.  I think of certains spots by certain rivers where I have felt God's presence strongly (thank you to Nancy Hugo and the River Project in high school).  I remember mountain top experiences where God seemed so near (thank you, BGAV Appalachian Trail Minister's Hikes).  I can also rememeber hospital rooms where we all held hands and prayed, where we all felt the presence of angels.  Yes, God is everywhere, but God is also in certain places at specific times.

When Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem, he prayed for God's blessing on the sacred place.  He said, "The lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever (1 Kings 8:12-13 NIV)."  While God's dark cloud of mystery obscures the divine presence, still God condescends to meet us in the tangible world.  

Still, Solomon recognized God's omnipresence.  "But will God really dwell on earth?  The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.  How much less this temple I have built (v. 27)."  Solomon knows that God is beyond time and space, yet he also knows that people need some physical marker to identify and remember their experience with God.  This is why he suggests "praying toward" the temple.  This tradition, called Mizrah, became so important for many Jewish believers that they hung or painted special ornaments on the side of their house that was closest to Jerusalem, just so they could know which direction to pray towards.  It wasn't that they believed that God would hear their prayers more if they faced the temple (or the place where the demolished temple used to be).  It was a way of orienting their hearts toward sacred space. 

Today, I wonder--what's your sacred space?  Do you have a physical place in your life, where you feel close to God?  How do you jive the two concepts of an omnipresent God, and a very present God in a tangible world?  Do you believe God is "up in heaven?"  Or do you believe that God is right here?  Maybe it's both!  Maybe even saying "both" is too limited.  Maybe it's even more than that--far more than words can tell.

"Do Your Possessions Possess You?" or, "Demonic Possessions"

In the past year, I've learned to let go of possessions.  Moving from Virginia to the Pacific Northwest in the winter, I couldn't bring my truck and travel trailer across the mountainous country in the snow, so I left them behind and moved with three suitcases of stuff.  I lived with those three suitcases of stuff for seven and a half months before I was able to go back to Virginia and get my things.  Even then, I could only take back with me about a thousand pounds of belongings, since it had to fit into the back of my pickup and since I was towing a trailer and was limited by the towing capacity of my vehicle.  

In essence, I've learned to live with very little.  And be content with that.  Did I miss my things, in the intervening time when they were in Virginia and I was on the West Coast?  Sure.  But I learned not to be attached to them, to not long for them.  I learned to feel complete without them.  And now that I have them, I recognize the extra work it's going to take in my life to take care of those things.  It'll take extra time to maintain what I own.  It's definitely worth it--but it's also a fact that having fewer things allows for a simpler life.

In contrast, I know some people who are hoarders.  Their homes are crammed, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, with stuff.  They think they possess their possessions, but in reality, their possessions possess them.  They have become slaves to their belongings, so much that the lack of space in their homes constricts them and keeps them from fully functioning.

Kitchen counter space is taken up by so much clutter that there's no room for meal prep--so they eat unhealthy, prepackaged meals that they just microwave, or they go out to eat too much.  Both of these alternatives to real meal prep are expensive both to bodily health and to the wallet.

When I visit them, chairs and couches are covered with so much stuff that I am forced to stand during the visit.  The lack of space leads to lack of hospitality, which also leads to lack of friends.  

And on and on.  Their possessions possess them.  And that's demonic.  Maybe that's hyperbole and maybe that's not--I'm not the one to judge.  But I do believe there's something  spiritually oppressive happening when a person is held captive by their own belongings.  Demonic possessions may not always take the form of a person foaming at the mouth and spewing profanity.  Sometimes possessions simply fill up and crowd out a person's life until there's no room for God.  

As I write this, I wonder--what's your relationship with your stuff?  Do you NEED your things, or could you be content without most of them?  Do you control your belongings, or do your possessions possess you?

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:11b-13 NIV)."

Nature abhors a vacuum. Maybe it prefers a clean sweep.

Have you ever felt a vacuum in your life--not like a Hoover, but like a black hole?  Grief can make you feel that way, and so can depression.  It's not only death of a loved one that brings this kind of sadness, but the loss of a marriage, loss of a job, children moving away, your own move to a different home, or change of any kind.  Depression can be brought on by life situations, and it can also be caused by chemical imbalances.  These things can make you feel like you have a vacuum in your heart, consumed from within by a black hole.

In 1 Samuel 16, King Saul felt this way:

14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

15 Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.”

17 So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.”
18 One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.”

19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.

21 David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.”

23 Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

There are three theological points that I don't have time to get into in depth right now, but I want to briefly touch on.  The first is that God doesn't send evil spirits--that was the common misconception of Hebrew authors at the time.  The second is that under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit would come and go, but under the New Covenant, believers have the indwelling Holy Spirit forever.  The third is that some people interpret "evil spirit" to mean a demon and others interpret that phrase to simply mean a bad mood or psychological event.  Your opinion on that is immaterial to what I'm saying today.  So what's the point?

Vacuums want to be filled, and messy houses need a clean sweep.  

Saul felt the way that he felt because the Spirit of the Lord had left him.  Empty spaces in the heart want to be filled with something.  Some people who feel internal vacuums fill them with drugs, alcohol, sex, YouTube, political campaigning, food, hoarding, or anything else that can be addictive.  Others fill the void with self pity, complaining, and undermining of others.  These are negative ways of dealing with the empty space inside.  When Saul felt this way, he could be slanderous and murderous.

To deal with the problem, Saul needed to make a clean sweep inside his heart.  He needed to "get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice (Eph 4:31 NIV)."  But you can't simply sweep a house clean and leave it that way.  Jesus says in Luke 11 (NIV):

24 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

What Jesus means is that you can't simply empty out the bad habits, the negative thinking, and the problematic things from your life, get that clean sweep, set your house in order, and expect it to stay that way.  You've got to fill your life with positive things that cancel out the negative.  Members of Alcoholics Anonymous have learned to replace drinking with meetings, and with helping others.  In the times when Saul was successful at resisting the vacuum, he would fill his heart with songs of worship.  This is helpful because Psalm 22:3 says that God is enthroned on the praises of people.  This means when we put God on the throne in our hearts, He takes the seat that was vacated by negative things.  He gets rid of the vacuum, makes a clean sweep, and then keeps the house clean.

I wonder--if you're trying to get rid of something negative in your life, are you simply trying to cast it out?  Or are you replacing it with something good?  I hope you'll fill the vacuum with good things today.

Celebrity in our Midst

Once, I went on a ghost tour in Wilmington, North Carolina.  A small group of people joined the tour guide as he led us from one old mansion to another, through the town graveyard, past an old tavern, telling us stories of people who had been murdered along the way.  One person in the crowd appeared to be enjoying the tour, and enjoying the fact that nobody seemed to recognize him.  Actor Michael Cera was part of this tour group--not as part of of the production, but simply as a fellow tourist.  He's a pretty unassuming guy, and even though I did recognize him, I never acted like a fan, never ran up and asked him to confirm his identity, never asked for his autograph.  I let him have his anonymity.

It wasn't too long before that incident, that I was in Scottsville, Virginia, in an ice cream shop.  Through the window, I saw singer Dave Matthews  (who owns a farm outside of town) walking down the sidewalk.  Others (possibly tourists) inside the shop also saw him through the window, pausing as he considered whether to take his daughter inside.  The others began fawning over him and treating him like an idol, even through the panes of glass, waiting to see if he would join them in the ice cream parlor.  I happened to be on my way out.  I stopped to say hello to Dave, (who's a really nice person), and told him that he should be aware that if he goes inside, he should be prepared to encounter adoring fans.  He thanked me, and we said goodbye.  I don't know whether he chose to go in and be recognized, or not.

Sometimes, celebrities like to be recognized, and sometimes they don't.  It may be that they're trying to have personal time with their family.  They may be on a ghost tour and just want to be left alone.  Or, they may want you to know who they are.  After all, celebrities choose their lives of fame and certainly profit from it.  It's hard to know what to do when you recognize celebrity.

In 1 Samuel 16, the prophet Samuel goes to Bethlehem to find a king for Israel.  He thinks he will find that king among prominent Jesse's more stalwart sons.  One is the strongest, another is the tallest, another is the most handsome.  Samuel almost misses the celebrity right under his nose--little David, who was so ignominious that he was nearly forgotten.  Just a shepherd boy, tending the sheep.  But God chooses him as king of Israel.

In Luke 24, after Jesus' resurrection, two disciples encounter a stranger on the road to Emmaus.  They spend all day with him, talking about current events and listening as he explains about the Messiah.  It's not until evening, when they break bread together, that they realize that the stranger IS THE MESSIAH they've been talking about.  Then, Jesus vanishes from their sight.

Sometimes, we recognize celebrities in our midst.  Other times, we miss them entirely.  But what if we stopped to recognize the celebrities who are ALWAYS among us?  The word "celebrity" means somebody to be celebrated--and isn't that your spouse, your child, your parent, your neighbor, your coworker, your friend?  Isn't that the person nearest to you, that you tend to overlook as common?  The truth is, celebrities are in our midst every day, if we only have the eyes to see them.  The divine is among us in every person we meet, if we only have the heart to embrace God With Us, Emmanuel.

I hope today you'll recognize celebrities in your midst.  I hope you'll see God in the most common person, and that you'll treat them like the precious one that they are.

"What Would You Have Said?"

"I grew up in the Lutheran church," she told me yesterday.  "I went through Sunday school and was taught everything I was supposed to learn.  But I've drifted away--I guess a lot of my generation drifts away.  I don't believe like my parents believe.  I guess I'm an agnostic, really.  But after a while, I started feeling disconnected.  Like, I don't have a sense of community.  Well, there's this Methodist church I've found, that a friend invited me to.  They have a praise band, and they need a guitarist.  I don't like Christian rock--but I've started playing with them.  I like it--but I don't know if I'm just pretending to be something that I'm not.  I like the sense of connection and community that I find in church, but I'm not sure if I should be there if I don't accept everything they believe.  What do you think?"*

Instead of jumping in and telling you immediately how I answered her, I'm curious what you'd say. 

Some Christians would answer that unless she believes the same way they do, she shouldn't be in church--that church is a gathering of like-minded Christians.  Others would say she is welcome to attend, but definitely shouldn't join the church as a member.  Still others would say she should be welcome there, but shouldn't be playing in the band, since that's leading worship and worship leadership is only for those who believe.  Some go even further and say that a believer should only be in worship leadership if they're living life by some pretty righteous standards.  You get a lot of opinions from Christians about who's in and who's out, in terms of the church. 

In Acts 11:1-18 (MSG), Peter explains to the church that he has learned a tough lesson about judging people to be insiders and outsiders.  Here's what he says:

1-3 The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it—heard that the non-Jewish “outsiders” were now “in.” When Peter got back to Jerusalem, some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: “What do you think you’re doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?”

4-6 So Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: “Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying. I fell into a trance and saw a vision: Something like a huge blanket, lowered by ropes at its four corners, came down out of heaven and settled on the ground in front of me. Milling around on the blanket were farm animals, wild animals, reptiles, birds—you name it, it was there. Fascinated, I took it all in.

7-10 “Then I heard a voice: ‘Go to it, Peter—kill and eat.’ I said, ‘Oh, no, Master. I’ve never so much as tasted food that wasn’t kosher.’ The voice spoke again: ‘If God says it’s okay, it’s okay.’ This happened three times, and then the blanket was pulled back up into the sky.

11-14 “Just then three men showed up at the house where I was staying, sent from Caesarea to get me. The Spirit told me to go with them, no questions asked. So I went with them, I and six friends, to the man who had sent for me. He told us how he had seen an angel right in his own house, real as his next-door neighbor, saying, ‘Send to Joppa and get Simon, the one they call Peter. He’ll tell you something that will save your life—in fact, you and everyone you care for.’

15-17 “So I started in, talking. Before I’d spoken half a dozen sentences, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us the first time. I remembered Jesus’ words: ‘John baptized with water; you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ So I ask you: If God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?”
18 Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. “It’s really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!”

Peter's conundrum wasn't about clean and unclean food.  I mean, as a Jewish man, yes, that was an issue, and that was radical enough.  But this vision was God's way of making the point that just as there's no such thing as clean and unclean food, there's no such thing as clean and unclean people.  Everyone is acceptable to God. God does not play favorites.

Yet, for some reason, there are some people that many churches still don't welcome.  They are deemed unworthy, or outsiders, because of the color of their skin, their disability, their citizenship status, their language, their sexual orientation or gender identity.  They are told that they're not welcome to fully participate in church life unless they believe the right doctrine, unless they're baptized, unless they're tithers, or unless they measure up in some other arbitrary way.  But the Bible's pretty clear that God plays no favorites.

So yesterday, I told the young woman that if I were the pastor of the church she's been attending, I'd tell her that if she's coming for the sake of community, she should keep coming.  That she shouldn't pretend to be something she's not, but if she enjoys playing the keyboard and contributing to the community in that way, she should continue to do so.  

Because, what would happen if I'd told her that she should stop playing, or stop attending, because her faith wasn't "good enough?"  I'd essentially have told her that she was an outsider.  Her partial interest would have turned to no interest at all--and worse than that, she would have felt hurt, rejected, and alienated.  

I believe that when Jesus hung on the cross, his arms were spread wide--not just in crucifixion, but in welcome.  "Come to me, ALL who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest," Jesus said.

So, I told her to come, encouraged her to stay, and hoped she'd share her gifts.  But I wonder...

What would you have said?






*The above conversation was real, but certain details have been changed to protect anonymity.

"Rule Number Six"

In a world like ours, it's easy to get offended.  Somebody posts something that differs from your opinion on Facebook, and you take it as a personal attack.  You have your review at work and your supervisor points out something you need to improve, and you take a critique as criticism.  The sheer existence of another person that you perceive as different from yourself causes you to sweat--mainly because you take yourself too seriously.

It would be easier to smile at these things and understand the deep secret that...

IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU.

In the Bible, the prophet Samuel governed Israel, not as a reigning monarch, but by the power of his moral influence.  Everybody came to him for advice, and they admired him for his wisdom.  That worked pretty well, until the Samuel's children started misbehaving.  People started questioning his leadership.  They also started looking at the nations around them, and got ideas that the governmental structure ought to change.  1 Samuel 8 (MSG) says:

Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: “Look, you’re an old man, and your sons aren’t following in your footsteps. Here’s what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else.”

When Samuel heard their demand—“Give us a king to rule us!”—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God.

God answered Samuel, “Go ahead and do what they’re asking. They are not rejecting you. They’ve rejected me as their King."

Samuel could have gotten offended, but God reminded him that it wasn't about him, anyway.  There was a bigger picture to look at, that went way beyond Samuel's fragile ego.

I remember when I was pastoring a church, and I had church members who vehemently opposed anything I tried to do or say.  They called my leadership into question time after time.  If I said the sky was blue, they'd say it was green.  I took it personally.  I got offended.  Then somebody came to me and said, "Don't worry about them--they opposed the pastor before you, and the pastor before him, and the pastor before him.  They just don't like pastors."  That gave me some perspective, and helped me to smile at their antics, not absorbing their negativity as a personal jab. 

Maybe there are areas in your life where you need to do the same.

I leave you with a story called "Rule Number Six" from the Huffington Post:

Two prime ministers were sitting in a room discussing affairs of state. Suddenly an aide burst in, shouting and banging his fist on the desk. The host prime minister quietly said, “Peter, kindly remember Rule Number Six.” Peter was instantly restored to complete calm, apologized for the interruption, and left the room. The prime ministers resumed their discussion. Several minutes later, another aide rushed in, shouting and stamping. Again the host prime minister quietly said, “Marie, please remember Rule Number Six.” Marie calmed down immediately, apologized, and left the room.

The visiting prime minister said “I’ve seen many things in my life, but never anything as remarkable as this. Tell me, what is this Rule Number Six?” The host prime minister said, “It’s really very simple. Rule Number Six is ‘Don’t take yourself so seriously.’” After a moment of pondering, the visiting prime minister inquired, “And what, may I ask, are the other rules?”

The host replied, “There aren’t any.”

"Recalculating"

Just when you think you know God's plans, God shows other plans.

Just when you think you've figured out God's will, God shows you something else.

Ever felt that way?  You've read the Bible, you've prayed, you've got all your spiritual bases covered so that you're certain you're doing what you're supposed to--only to have the same God you thought was directing you, lead you in another direction?  It's confusing, isn't it?

In Acts 16, Paul is on a missionary journey.  He knows he's been directed to spread the word about Jesus, and he's got the trip all planned out.  He's measured the miles on Google Maps, planned out his destinations, and even allowed extra travel time for site-seeing along the way.  But God has other plans in mind.  Verses 6-10 (MSG) say:

They went to Phrygia, and then on through the region of Galatia. Their plan was to turn west into Asia province, but the Holy Spirit blocked that route. So they went to Mysia and tried to go north to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus wouldn’t let them go there either. Proceeding on through Mysia, they went down to the seaport Troas.

That night Paul had a dream: A Macedonian stood on the far shore and called across the sea, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The dream gave Paul his map. We went to work at once getting things ready to cross over to Macedonia. All the pieces had come together. We knew now for sure that God had called us to preach the good news to the Europeans.

Just when Paul thought he had his itinerary all scheduled, God threw a monkey wrench into his plans.  First by the Holy Spirit, then by the Spirit of Jesus; finally by a vision of a Macedonian man--three times Paul was told that the course he had plotted was good, but it wasn't right for today.  Instead of taking the Gospel deeper into Asia, Paul turned aside and jumped the creek into Europe.  And the course of church history was changed, from Paul's will to God's will.

What made the difference in this story?  How was Paul able to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit, of Jesus, and of the Macedonian?  He took time to get quiet, to pray, and to listen to the inner prompting of his heart.

I know in my own life, just when I thought I had the next couple of decades planned out, God let me know in very clear terms that my plans were not his plans. In Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV), God says:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Maybe God's been showing you the same thing that I had to learn, and that Paul had to learn.  Maybe you're seeing that no matter how much work and detail you've put into plotting your course, God may have detours ahead.  How do you deal with those details?  Take time to get quiet, to pray, and to listen to the inner prompting of your voice.

When I'm on a road trip, I generally trust my GPS to take me where I want to go.  But sometimes a detour comes up that I didn't expect.  That's when the GPS says, "Recalculating." That's when I've got to be willing to adjust my plans, recalculate, and go a new way.  I hope that when life takes you on detours, you'll be able to recalculate and go with God's plan rather than your own plan.  As you do so, I wish you safe travels.